The 2 Sided Equation to Effective SEO & Local SEO

Most of the conversations I’ve had lately with current and prospective clients have been around the topic of executing the mechanics of SEO and local SEO.  Meaning, what are the actual steps / actions we need to take to improve your presence in the organic and local search results?

To simplify an otherwise complicated, long list of items and steps to answering this question, I think of executing SEO and local SEO in terms of a 2 sided equation.  This allows me and our team to stay focused, at all times, on what’s most important in delivering the strongest results and rankings to our clients.

Here’s a quick overview of the 2 sided equation to our SEO and local SEO strategy:

Side 1:  onsite optimization

This includes things that you might already be familiar with, but here’s a quick punch list for you to reference:

• keyword research (which drives your SEO strategy)
• meta data optimization (site structuring)
• onsite <h2>, <h3>, (sub title) tag use
• long form content (pushing for longer, more in depth content on each landing page — we strive for 2,500 words for our long form content pieces)
• internal linking structures / Silos
• Local SEO:  citation consistency between your GMB listing and website
• Local SEO:  embedding your GMB listing directly into your website / Contact Us page
• Local SEO:  implementing Schema language for your citation listings on your website
• Local SEO:  adding citations to the sidebar or footer of your website so the citation (wrapped in Schema) is seen across all pages of your website

Side 2:  external resources

This is where all of your onsite optimization steps from side 1 of the equation are amplified exponentially.

The external resources / side 2 of your SEO & Local SEO equation includes websites, directories, and any other resources where you can get a do-follow backlink and also a citation reference (re: local SEO).

For example with our law firm clients, we’ve created our own internal list of resources that we recommend all of our clients to leverage.

This list of resources for law firms includes things like legal directories, sponsorship sites, and other key resources where we know our law firm clients can build substantial amounts of domain authority from backlinks and citations references.

We’ve developed several other external resource references for many other business categories as well such as medical, dental, plastic surgeons, plumbers, sports camps, etc…

The ultimate goal with side 2 of the equation is to leverage external resources to amplify your side 1 / internal SEO strategies.

When it comes to competing at the top of the organic and local search results in Google, especially in hyper competitive markets such as “car accident lawyers” in large metro areas, it’s imperative that you implement some combination of the 2 sided equation mentioned above.